The story of our hero Salman begins when he was a youngster. His people were fire worshippers and he too began to follow their traditions. He became the custodian of the fire so had to keep the fire always burning.
Salman was not comfortable with this belief and soon began a journey to find the truth. He first went to a monk and began to watch his worship. He thought that this was better than fire worship. Before long, Salman left his town and headed to Syria which was a centre for this belief.
In Syria, he served under another monk who was in charge of the church. He would observe the prayers and worship as well as look after the elderly gentleman. When the monk passed away, another one took over who too was devoted to worship and prayer. Salman served under a few such holy men.
The monk told Salman about a prophet who was expected in a distant land called Arabia. He taught Salman all about this prophet and what to look for. When Salman met some Arab traders, he spoke to them and they agreed to take him.
The traders had promised to take him to Arabia but tricked him and sold him as a slave to a Jew. The Jew took him to Madina and made him work very hard in the date orchards.
One day, he was working in the hot sun and heard talk of the prophet coming to Madina. Everyone seemed very excited and Salman wondered if this could be the prophet the monk had told him about.
That night Salman went and spoke to the Prophet (pbuh). He took some dates to test him if he was this awaited Prophet. He spoke to him and found he was exactly as the monk had told him. Salman’s long journey had ended and he became a pious and respected Muslim. |
